White House says Spain agrees to cooperate with US operations in Middle East

The White House on Wednesday said Spain has agreed to cooperate with US operations in the Middle East after President Donald Trump had threatened to cut off trade with Madrid, hours after the Spanish prime minister said that his government wouldn't "be complicit in something that is bad for the world."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that "with respect to Spain, I think they heard the president's message yesterday loud and clear.

"And it's my understanding over the past several hours, they've agreed to cooperate with the US military," Leavitt said. "And so I know that the US military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain."

The Associated Press was attempting to get comment from the Spanish government immediately after Leavitt's remarks.

Trump on Tuesday said that he was going to " cut off all trade with Spain," a day after Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that his country wouldn't allow the US to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the UN charter.

Hours before Leavitt's comments on Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez again criticized the US and Israel's military actions in Iran, standing firm against trade threats from Washington and warning that the war in the Middle East risked "playing Russian roulette" with millions of lives.

"We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values ​​and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone," Sánchez said in a televised address.

Sánchez, widely regarded as Europe's last major progressive leader, has called the US and Israeli attacks on Iran an "unjustifiable" and "dangerous" military intervention.

It wasn't clear how Trump would have cut off trade with Spain, which is a member of the European Union. The EU negotiates trade on behalf of all its 27 member states.

When asked in an interview with CNBC whether a trade embargo with Spain would be possible, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday "it would be a combination effort." He didn't explain further, but said Spain's refusal to allow the US to use its bases in the weekend attack on Iran endangered American lives.

"Anything that slows down our ability to engage and prosecute this war in the fastest, most effective manner puts American lives at risk," Bessent said. "The Spanish put American lives at risk."

On Wednesday, Sánchez expressed concern that the attacks on Iran could lead to another costly military quagmire in the Middle East, similar to the past American interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"In short, the position of the government of Spain can be summarized in four words," Sánchez said. "No to the war."

Associated Press